Summary Bullets:

• VMworld 2021 will give greater prominence to ESG issues than any previous VMworld.
• The challenge for VMware will be to demonstrate real transformation and momentum in its progress towards specific and measurable ESG targets.

At next week’s VMworld 2021, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues look set to receive greater prominence than in any previous year.  Before 2020, VMworld events had only a scattering of professional development; ESG; and diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) sessions but no dedicated track for those topics.  In 2020, VMware introduced the professional development track; and this year, the company plans to expand this track to include DEI and ESG sessions and rename the track to ‘Inspire Change.’ Continue reading “VMworld 2021: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Issues Take Center Stage” →

Summary Bullets:

• New processor chip design platforms from Arm will strengthen and deepen Arm’s importance within the data center technology industry.

• These developments increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, and could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed acquisition of Arm.

Arm’s latest chip design platforms will strengthen and deepen the UK’s firm’s importance within the data center technology industry. This will increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, which are chipping away at Intel’s dominance in the data center processor space. It could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed $40 billion (£29 billion) acquisition of Arm, which is currently under investigation by the UK government.

Continue reading “Arm’s Growing Clout in Data Center Technology Threatens Intel and Potentially NVIDIA’s Planned Takeover” →

Summary Bullets:

• IBM and eProvenance recently announced the availability of VinAssure, a blockchain-based solution for the wine industry that helps users address traditional supply chain challenges.
• Although VinAssure is off to a good start with its first member, a growing membership will help to reinforce the new solution’s strength and utility.

IBM and eProvenance, a Franco-American company that specializes in monitoring wine shipment conditions, recently unveiled plans to create a new wine industry ecosystem by harnessing the power of blockchain.  Central to this initiative will be VinAssure, a new, IBM blockchain-powered platform that is designed to provide users with a more insightful and secure way of tracking wines as they move through the distribution and transportation process from vineyard to consumer.  For example, using existing identifiers, such as a QR code on the bottle, consumers will be able to learn about a wine’s provenance and flavor profiles, or whether it meets certification standards for organic, biodynamic, or sustainability practices.  Similarly, retailers will be able access information about a wine’s production environment or the conditions in which the wine was transported. Continue reading “IBM and eProvenance Deploy Blockchain to Address Wine Industry Supply Chain Challenges” →

Summary Bullets:

• HPE’s SBC-2 computer system on the International Space Station will enable advanced data processing in support of space-based research, while connecting to Microsoft’s Azure cloud on Earth.
• Despite SBC-2’s potential, the new computer system will be vulnerable to the same environmental challenges as its predecessor.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Microsoft have joined forces to combine the potential of HPE’s edge computing technology and Microsoft’s cloud computing capabilities in outer space. HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) system – soon to be deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) – will enable many new activities on the space station that require advanced data processing. It will also connect via satellite to Microsoft’s cloud data centers on Earth for more demanding requirements. However, despite the potential offered by SBC-2, the new computer system will be vulnerable to the same environmental challenges as its predecessor. Continue reading “Microsoft and HPE Bring Advanced Data Processing and Cloud Computing to Space Station” →

Summary Bullets:

• There a growing interest in how blockchain, a distributed ledger technology (DLT), can help governments and health authorities address the challenges associated with COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

• However, several hurdles and barriers mean that specific blockchain-based initiatives are likely to be slow to materialize and may never be fully realizable on a global scale.

With some countries, including Russia and the United Kingdom, having already started vaccinating populations against COVID-19, and with others expected to follow suit in the coming weeks, there is a growing interest in how blockchain could help governments and health authorities address some of the many challenges associated with vaccine distribution and dissemination. Continue reading “Blockchain Won’t be a Global Solution for COVID-19 Vaccination Plans Anytime Soon” →